River Flows In You
by MisanthropicValentine
Summary: Uchiha brothers are miraculously back in Konoha. Home sweet home? Not quite. Obstacles are ahead of them. With a council member determined to wipe out the Uchiha clan, it seems impossible for them to have a normal life again. Though, two girls will help.
1. Chapter 1: Starting Over

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. This fanfiction was made out for pure enjoyment. No money was made off of this story. Naruto and its characters are owned by Masashi Kishimoto.

**Summary:** Uchiha brothers are miraculously back in Konoha. Home sweet home? Not quite. Obstacles are ahead of them. With a council member determined to wipe out the Uchiha clan, it seems impossible for them to have a normal life again. With the help of two ANBU members, they just might make it possible.

**Chapter 1**

"**Starting Over"**

It has been exactly three months since Itachi and Sasuke Uchiha entered through Konoha's gates. During the fight between the two brothers that happened about a year ago, the truth of the Uchiha clan was revealed. The real reason why Itachi had to massacre their family.

Fugaku was planning to overrun the council and the Hokage in order for the Uchihas to be the most powerful clan in the village. Power can turn a man crazy, and Fugaku was crazy for it. The Hokage at the time ordered Itachi to massacre his family, which tore him inside. He begged the council to have him spare at least his brother. They obliged, knowing two Uchihas in the world would not be as bad as Fugaku. To keep Sasuke alive, Itachi has to have insurance that his little brother wasn't going to be suicidal. In order for that to happen, he goaded Sasuke with the thought of revenge. Sasuke gave into Itachi's mind game, and revenge took over Sasuke's grief. The rest of the story is history.

ANBU members brought back Sasuke and Itachi after they destroyed the Akatsuki. With Tsunade's lecture and approval, they were welcomed back into the village. However, of course, they were watched at all times secretly. The brothers expected that already though.

Back to present times, the two brothers were now back in the Uchiha complex. Both had scars from the places, and sleeping there would be like reopening the wounds. They learned to deal with it though, and now the place just makes them feel numb. Within the three months of being back in their home village, both have made progress with mending what the left behind. Naruto welcomed Sasuke with open arms, happy to have his best friend back. Kakashi never verbally welcomed the two brothers, but his actions said so. Friendships were mended, and Sasuke had his older brother in his life again. Itachi worked as an accountant for one of the companies in Konoha in order to make meets end, and prove to Tsunade that they were worthy to be citizens of Konoha again.

"Oi teme! Wake up!" Sasuke's obsidian eyes snapped open when he heard the obnoxious blonde holler at him from his bedroom door. He groggily sat up and peered at the knuckle-headed ninja across the room from him.

"Hn," was all the young Uchiha said as he got up from his navy blue bed. He threw his white shirt on and a pair a pants as well. Like all of his fangirls imagined, the heart throb slept in his boxers.

"Teme hurry! We're going to be late for practice! Sakura-chan is going to bitch at me again!" the blonde whined as the older Uchiha leaned against the door frame in his work clothes. Ignoring Naruto, Sasuke looked at his door and at his brother.

"And we all know how much he wants to see that medic-nin," Itachi chuckled as his brother glared at him. Sasuke's relationship with Sakura was awfully awkward. They only spoke to one another when it was absolutely needed. It was only absolutely needed when he needed medical attention or they discussed about his summonings with the council and/or Tsunade. He had to admit, Sakura changed dramatically throughout the four years. She was no longer the weakling he knew when they were thirteen. Sakura was a strong independent woman who never ceased to amaze him nowadays. He would never admit it though.

"Ohh teme. I knew you were going to go after Sakura-chan when I started going out with Hinata. I get it, I get it. Afraid of going after women I'm after, I see," Naruto said in a matter of fact tone while giving an eyebrow wiggle. This just annoyed Sasuke even more and earned Naruto a whack on the head.

"Nani! I did nothing this time! Itai," Naruto mumbled the last part as he gently rubbed the back of his sore head. Naruto asked out Hinata last month when he sought out advice from Sasuke, and got nothing. The poor girl almost fainted when Naruto asked her out, but managed to stutter out her answer. Which was a yes.

They met up with the rest of Team 7 at the fields. Sai was the first one there, drawing something in his sketch book. They arrived the same time Sakura did.

"Ohayo Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out, waving at her from a few feet away.

"Naruto, I can hear you loud and clear, there's no need to yell," she scowled. It was still very early in the morning, and with a late night shift at the hospital you'd assume she would be easily agitated. Her pink hair stopped at her shoulders and had an elegant wave to it while it was straight at the same time. Her bangs framed her face and that infamous wide forehead or hers wasn't even noticed. Her eyes were a vibrant shade of mint green. Sakura was simply in one of her Haruno red shirts, with the sign at the back of it. It hugged her torso, showing off her curves but not too much. Her tan skirt seemed a little too short for the imagination, but luckily her black spandex shorts stopped mid thigh.

It took a few minutes before Sasuke realized he was staring at her. He mentally scoffed at himself

"**Why'd you stop? I was enjoying that," **his inner pervert snickered at him mentally.

"_Because I feel like a pig. She's a teammate, I shouldn't even be thinking about that."_

"**That's the best excuse you got? We both know she's not **_**just **_**a teammate," **this made Sasuke scowl in reality. Luckily no one saw since he was away from his team, leaning against a nearby tree.

Kakashi appeared in a cloud of smoke in a tree, he quickly dropped down and gave a smile to his team.

"Sorry I'm late, there was a little old lady-"

"BULLSHIT!" he was cut off abruptly by the blonde ninja, who pointed an accusing finger at their former sensei. Kakashi nonchalantly grabbed his icha icha book from his pack and skimmed through the pages.

"Alright, I'll tell you the truth now. I was talking to Tsunade about important business," he said without looking up from his book.

"Do we have another mission?" Naruto whined like a little kid as he pouted. He plopped himself down on the grass as if he gave up on the world at that point. The rest of Team 7 just shook their head at Naruto's childish antics.

"No, but I have to say that training is cancelled for the day. You have the rest of the day off-" before Kakashi could finish his sentence, Sakura was already gone. Naruto gave a confused look to everyone, but before he could even question Sakura's actions Sai answered him.

"Probably the hospital, dickless. She has a job to do, unlike someone who eats ramen for their hobby," as Naruto tried to find a retort but ended up just yelling things that didn't even make sense, Sasuke found himself looking at the spot Sakura was standing on before she disappeared. He looked up at the silver haired ninja. Without looking up from his book, Kakashi said.

"Sasuke, Tsunade wants to talk to you," he kind of expected that.

. . .

Sakura sighed as she tried to regain energy after healing another patient.

"_Ninjas… Couldn't they just sit their asses down and not hurt themselves?" _she mentally questioned.

"**Speaking of asses, did you see Sasuke checking out yours?" **her inner self snickered at her, which made Sakura scoff.

"_He was not! Anyways, I wouldn't care if he did." _Sakura spent the three years loving him, and even before that she loved him. The fourth year she decided to get over him. Just when she thought the feelings she had for him were gone, he came back with his brother. Within those four years, she was studying him and his family. What could she say? Her curiosity took a hold of her, and she decided to look into his records.

"**Sure girl, don't you lie to me. I live in your head," **Sakura rolled her eyes. Ino's voice woke her up into reality.

"Oi forehead! You have another patient!" Sakura groaned and got up from her desk and towards her best friend. The blonde looked at Sakura and gave her a smile.

"You look dead beat tired forehead, you didn't even have training this morning!"

Sakura rolled her eyes at her friend, "Work. It's going to kill me."

"Tell you what, how about this weekend we have a girls night out? You can even bring Miho!" before Sakura could say anything, her patient walked in. _"This is going to be a long day," _she thought to herself.

. . .

Sasuke stood at the doorway to the Hokage's office. Tsunade's desk was over flowing with paperwork and books. Not to mention the empty sake bottles that laid sprawled across the floor. Tsunade herself was standing up with her back towards Sasuke, she was looking at Konoha from her glass walls. Before Sasuke could knock and get her attention, she already knew he was there.

"Sit down Uchiha," Tsunade said. He walked in, but he didn't sit down. She knew that, and she scowled but didn't show her face. She didn't fancy the Uchihas that much, well, Sasuke at least. She knew of her apprentice's feelings towards the boy. She knew how it was to be in love, she didn't know how it was to be in a love that was unrequited. Therefore, she couldn't bear to imagine what her apprentice felt. The immense pain she felt for this boy. Sakura Haruno was surely a strong girl, Tsunade made sure of it. Though, that was probably painful for Sakura to see Sasuke leave the village and become a rogue ninja. Tsunade also knew, by the way Sasuke looked at her apprentice, the love wasn't going to be unrequited for long.

The older Uchiha made his way into her office.

"Hokage-sama," Itachi bowed. Tsunade turned around to face them. The Uchiha brothers stood side by side next to each other. Her blue eyes scanned them, no doubt they were brothers. The resemblance between them was undeniable. Their eyes showed the rubble that was left of them from past obstacles. She felt sorry for both of them.

"I'll have you know that your court date with the council is exactly a month and a half from now," she informed them. They gave a simple nod. "Well, the witnesses of your change are your friends. They will all be called up to the stand to say if both of you have changed or not." Sasuke mentally questioned why he was here. He knew what was going to happen at the court date, and he was sure Itachi knew as well.

Tsunade sighed, "You both probably know what's going to happen. Though, I'm not appointing you two lawyers." Both of the brothers' heads shot up to look at Tsunade. If this weren't such an important and serious conversation she would've laughed at reactions. She continued, "Instead. I'm giving you two my best people for this case. They aren't lawyers, because if I give you lawyers they won't do their job properly since everyone in Konoha, except those who are familiar to you, fears you two."

"Hokage-sama, I don't quite follow," Itachi questioned her.

"The two people I have appointed to your case are skilled in persuasion and are far more advanced than lawyers. I want you two to win, since I believe you two have potential to be in Konoha. It's going to take more than a miracle for you two to get approval from those oldies we call council members."

"So exactly, who are they?" Sasuke asked. Tsunade smirked at his question, and he assumed the worse. On cue, a certain medic ninja walked in. Sasuke didn't need to turn around to face this person, his eyes were already widened. He sensed her chakra, and knew what kind of chakra she had from training sessions. Itachi was snickering at this point.

"Tsunade-sama you called for me?" Sakura stood up straight, not letting her eyes wander on the Uchiha brothers. She had to admit, they were definitely brothers. Even if Sasuke was only seventeen and Itachi twenty-two, it was obvious.

"Yes Sakura, you will be appointed to represent Sasuke and Itachi's case. Mostly Sasuke, I'm appointing another person to work with Itachi and collaborate with you. You and I both know who else I'm appointing." Sakura nodded at Tsunade's words. There was no fighting her, even though Sakura wanted to object so badly. At least she knew who else Tsunade was appointing.

While Sasuke was busy glaring at Itachi, and Itachi with a mocking smirk on his face. Sasuke couldn't help but ask, "Who else is appointed to represent Itachi?"

On cue, again, an ANBU membered appeared in the room.

"_What the fuck… Is everyone on cue or something?" _Sasuke scoffed mentally.

"**Hey. Just be glad Sakura is appointed to us. This'll be fun," **Sasuke groaned mentally. Sasuke watched as Itachi looked at the ANBU member with interest.

It was clearly a female; her curves were shown even through her ANBU outfit. Her mask was a cat with designed with black and crimson paint on the white exterior. She took it off and as she took it off she exposed her light skin. She licked her light pink lips as she opened her chocolate brown eyes. Her hair cascaded down to the middle of her back. Her hair was layered so the back looked like a tail as it got longer. It was black, so black it could compete with Itachi's hair color. Though, it had bright maroon-ish magenta highlights. It almost seemed unnatural until Tsunade said who she was.

"Miho Kawano, Sakura's cousin."


	2. Chapter 2: Moving In

**Disclaimer:**I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. This fanfiction was made out for pure enjoyment. No money was made off of this story. Naruto and its characters are owned by Masashi Kishimoto.

**Summary:** Uchiha brothers are miraculously back in Konoha. Home sweet home? Not quite. Obstacles are ahead of them. With a council member determined to wipe out the Uchiha clan, it seems impossible for them to have a normal life again. With the help of two ANBU members, they just might make it possible.

**Chapter 2**

"**Moving In"**

"Miho Kawano, Sakura's cousin."

Sasuke's eyes darted from Sakura to Miho. The resemblance was vague, but it was there. You just had to look at it close enough. Though, Sasuke questioned why he never saw this woman when he was growing up. She looked like she was either twenty or twenty-one.

"Miho has been studying Itachi before he came to Konoha, the past Hokage wanted her to keep an eye on him for his mission. I'm sure you've encountered her before, Itachi," Tsunade averted her gaze from Miho to the older Uchiha. Itachi's eyes were focused on Miho, as if he resembled her once.

"Outside Takumi Village, you attacked me," Itachi said simply to the girl who stood a few feet away from him. She turned around and looked at him up and down, "Hokage-sama ordered a mission, a hit and run. I was to attack you then retreat," she said nonchalantly, the corner of her mouth twitched as if she were going to smile. Sasuke looked amused, but he averted his gaze on Sakura. Who still refused to acknowledge his presence.

"Ah! Now that you're acquainted… Miho, Sakura, you know what to do. Watch the Uchiha brothers closely. Study and observe them."

"Tsunade-sama you make it sound like their animals," Miho chuckled and Sakura couldn't help but laugh as well. She knew Tsunade made it sound like they were animals on purpose. Both brothers rolled their eyes. Tsunade smiled and continued.

"Well then. Just so you know, both of you will be moving into the Uchiha complex. You must be with these two at all times, unless I state otherwise. You know my terms."

"Sensei-" Sakura tried to object. She rather not stay in the same house as Sasuke. It was just stirring up trouble. She knew he was staring at right now, but she really just didn't want to be under the same roof as them.

"Sakura, there is no point in arguing. You will stay with them until their trial. Which, I remind you all, is in a month and a half from now." Tsunade said as she gazed at all of them, taking her seat and folding her hands under her chin. Miho looked particularly bored and turned her head to look at her cousin. Who was almost fuming at the thought of having to not only study Sasuke and represent him at the trial, but also live with him for a month and fifteen days.

"You are all dismissed," with that they all walked out of her office. Once they all reached the outside of the council meeting, Itachi looked over at his little brother. "Sasuke, go help Sakura pack. I'll help Miho," Itachi turned to look at Miho who was behind him. She gave a soft smile before whispering to the highly pissed off Sakura. "Calm down, he's your teammate, you're gonna have deal with it," she walked away with Itachi. Miho's apartment was on the other side of the village, while Sakura's was closer to the Uchiha complex. Sakura huffed and started to walk towards her apartment, Sasuke followed shortly after her.

Their walk wasn't a conventional one. Sakura refused to talk to him, or at least make the first move to talk. Sasuke was just an anti-social and could go on without talking. The trip was silent. They arrived at Sakura's comfy apartment within fifteen minutes. The inside of her apartment has simple décor and gave off a spring aura, typical for Sakura. "You can take a seat on the couch while I pack," she finally said as she walked over to her room. The door to her room was a bright cherry red. Sasuke sat down on her white couch, the whole apartment just gave off the essence of Sakura.

After an hour of packing, Sakura had all her things that she needed. Sasuke was unbelievably bored and picked up her suitcase from her room. He noticed a pink picture frame on her bed. It was a family picture. It was obvious because they all had the Haruno sign somewhere, and Miho and Sakura were next to each other in it. They all either had red, pink or black hair. It was probably genetics, and Sasuke couldn't question it. Before he could pick it up for a closer look, Sakura snatched it up and pressed it against her chest. It was secured in her arms.

"Your family?" Sasuke asked, which he regretted later.

"**Well duh it's her family dipshit, I'm wondering why we've only met her and her cousin."**

"_Hn."_

"**Oh don't you dare pull that on me."**

"Yes, it _was_ my family," she said as she lead him out the door. She locked it with her key as they started to walk to the Uchiha complex.

. . .

It took longer than Sasuke and Sakura to get to Miho's apartment. It was on the south side of Konoha.

"Miho Kawano. I've heard of you," Itachi was the first one to speak up. It amused Miho as she opened the door to her apartment.

"Funny. I don't hear that every day," she said in a bored tone before making her way to her room. She grabbed a few suitcases before starting to pack what she needed into the cases. Itachi followed her into her room, and leaned against her door frame. Her room consisted of reds and blacks, sometimes he could see violet here and there. He noticed the sketch books and paints that were on her desk next to scrolls and textbooks.

"Akatsuki made me research ANBU members, your name appeared in a scroll."

"Looks like we were researching each other without knowing," she dumped her clothes in one suitcase. She folded them neatly when she sorted out through them.

"What did you find out?"

She paused her packing before looking up at him, "More than you could imagine," she said before walking over to her bathroom to grab her necessities. Itachi's eyebrows were propped up in interest.

"_This is going to be a long night," _he thought to himself as his eyes followed her back into the room.

. . .

"What do you mean by _was_?" Sasuke asked her as they made their way to the Uchiha complex. Sakura gripped onto the picture frame tighter. She stayed quiet, but could feel his eyes on her from behind.

"You and I… Aren't so different, and we aren't so similar," she finally answered after what seemed like forever. His eyes narrowed and fixated on the back of her head. Her pink hair swayed with each step she took. Giving a silent sigh, Sasuke decided to drop the conversation.

"**She'll tell us in due time, oh clueless one." **Sasuke almost wanted to beat his inner thoughts.

He escorted her into her room, and set her things on her bed. Sasuke didn't realize that he picked the room that was nearest to his room. He assumed that Itachi would want Miho close to him, observation wise and such. Sasuke walked to his room and closed the door behind him, leaving Sakura in her room. Looking at his phone, as if it read his mind, Naruto started calling.

Sighing, he answered wordlessly.

"Teme?" Naruto asked on the other side of the line.

"Hn."

"How'd it go with Oba-chan?"

". . . Hn."

"Teme you gotta do better than that. No one can understand what your damn _hns_ mean."

"All we talked about was my trial with Itachi…"

"And?"

"And… We have two observers living with us now."

"HAHAHAHAHA SUCKS FOR YOU!" Sasuke grew irritated with Naruto's laughter.

"Tch."

"WAIT 'TIL SAKURA-CHAN FINDS OUT! SHE'S GONNA LAUGH AND LAUGH! HAHAHAHA!"

"She already knows."

"Wait! How?" After a few moments of silence, Naruto finally got it. It was like an epiphany for the blonde.

"EHHHHHHHHHHH!" was the only thing he said, and made Sasuke go deaf for a few moments.

. . .

In an hour Itachi and Miho arrived at the Uchiha manor, it was around sunset by the time they came. Sakura knew all of them were probably starving. Sakura had to skip breakfast to go to work, Miho probably burned breakfast when training, they all skipped lunch, dinner was coming up soon. Before she could suggest she make dinner, her cousin beat her to it.

"My cousin and I will make dinner," she stated simply as she walked back down the stairs after putting her bags in her room. Sasuke was still in his room and Itachi was right behind the ANBU ninja.

"Guests shouldn't have to cook dinner," Itachi claimed as they reached the bottom of the stairs. Sakura opened the door of her room to hear their argument. She knew Miho wasn't going to let the boys cook tonight.

"Well we aren't welcomed guests aren't we? Therefore, let me and Sakura cook tonight," she glanced over her shoulder as they reached the kitchen to peek at Itachi. He simply leaned against the wall and folded his arms against his chest.

"Fine, but I'll be washing the dishes," Miho gave a carefree shrug to his response. He turned on his heels and went to his room. Now both brothers were locked in their rooms leaving the girls in the kitchen. Miho whipped her body around to face the stairs. "Sakura!" Sakura sighed and walked down over to her cousin to start dinner.

The girls decided to make sushi, tempura and onigiri since they lacked knowledge on what the boys liked to eat. Miho started with the tempura while Sakura did the sushi. Without looking up from the fish she was cutting, Sakura questioned her cousin.

"How are you so far with Itachi?"

"He doesn't seem to surprise me anymore. Very predictable, but I guess that's because I had to study him throughout the years," Miho gave a nonchalant shrug. She plopped a breaded shrimp into the fryer. "How about you and Sasuke?" without looking up, Miho already knew Sakura was stood up straighter as a response. "You're going to have to deal with it, and maybe… Oh I don't know, tell him one day?"

Sakura immediately stopped what she was doing and sighed, "You know I can't do that."

"Sure you can, you just need reason. And a push, which will probably be me and Ino," Miho laughed as she plopped more breaded shrimp into the fryer.

. . .

After dinner, the girls went up stairs to their rooms to get ready for bed. It was Itachi and Sasuke's turn for the dishes. They had to admit, the girls did a terrific job with cooking dinner. Not that it surprised them much. Though, now there they were, cleaning after their dinner. Sasuke was barely awake as he wiped the dishes dry and put them into the shelves. Itachi cleared his throat and got Sasuke's attention.

"We have to be careful with these two."

"Hn. We're not hiding anything from them."

"Exactly, because they know everything. Miho knows everything there is to me, most likely, out family too."

"We know nothing about these girls."

"Besides that they're cousins." That was just stating the obvious.

"So what exactly do you think we should do? Get to know them as they study us for our damn trial? Itachi it isn't like they willingly wanted to learn about us."

"Who knows." Sasuke's eyes flickered at Itachi. Who stared back at him. Itachi was leaning against the sink, now the dishes were clean and put away. It was only them while the girls were upstairs, both were most likely taking a shower.

"Alright. We'll watch them while they're watching us." Itachi nodded at his brother's decision. Sasuke looked up at the clock that was framed in the kitchen. It was already 9pm. He stood up and looked at his brother, "Aren't you going to bed?"

Itachi shook his head, "I have things to do before bed, goodnight Sasuke." Sasuke in reply just tilted his head and walked up the stairs to his room. Leaving Itachi leaning against the sink.

"Miho Kawano…"

. . .

Sakura woke up with the sun on her face, and instead of her normal pink sheets she found herself gripping onto white and red ones. She groaned as she recalled the events of yesterday. Moving into the Uchiha manor. After making her bed she went over to her cousin's room. She knocked, and there was no answer. Sakura opened it to see it empty, then suddenly a voice spoke behind her.

"She left with Itachi to go to her work," Sasuke told her. She turned to meet his face. He was clad only in his boxers and his hair was tousled a bit.

"_He probably just woke up too," _she thought to herself.

"**Who cares about that! Oh my fucking gosh he's only in his boxers!" **the inner fangirl in her squealed. Sakura almost scowled at herself, but she just nodded at Sasuke.

"Tsunade wanted me to tell you that you have vacation time, apparently she wants you to focus on the case," Sakura just gave him a nod of acknowledgment. She made her way back to her room to get ready for the day. She and Sasuke both had training sessions with the rest of Team 7, and she decided to get ready for it now.

Sakura, however, was still clad in a simply thin tank top and short shorts. She was oblivious to the eyes raking up and down her body as she walked away.


	3. Chapter 3: Truth

**Disclaimer:**I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. This fanfiction was made out for pure enjoyment. No money was made off of this story. Naruto and its characters are owned by Masashi Kishimoto.

**Summary:** Uchiha brothers are miraculously back in Konoha. Home sweet home? Not quite. Obstacles are ahead of them. With a council member determined to wipe out the Uchiha clan, it seems impossible for them to have a normal life again. With the help of two ANBU members, they just might make it possible.

**Chapter 3**

**Truth**

Miho was clad in her everyday clothes. No longer in her ANBU uniform, she wore black shorts that stopped mid-thigh along with a red off the shoulder top. A black vest was over that top that held straps and hidden pockets for weapons and what not. She wore black ninja boots that had little heels at the bottom; the heels were helpful for high jumps. Which, she needed, since she was jumping from tree to tree following Itachi.

It wasn't hard keeping up with the Uchiha. She jumped from tree limb to tree limb as if she were skipping. Itachi walked below her on the dirt road. People's eyes stared at him as they whispered rumors to each other. Without a doubt Itachi Uchiha was just as attractive as his little brother. Though his reputation striked fear into girls' hearts instead of sexual needs. Girls fanned themselves as soon as Itachi walked past them, while some hid behind their friends. Miho rolled her eyes at their reactions. He was just a man to her. The older Uchiha was well aware of her presence, and he sighed as he questioned her actions.

"I'm wasting training sessions to watch over you, might as well get as much exercise as I can," she said as she landed softly on the ground as they stood in front of a company building. Before he could walk in, she started again. "I'm going to have to watch you work."

"I know," he said simply before walking in. She smiled before walking after him. He had his own office, isolated from everyone else for more reasons than one. Miho sat down in the corner of the room as he started to record numbers into books. She crossed her legs and leaned back in her chair, gazing at him as her hand started to take notes in a scroll. It didn't require her to look down at the scroll to see what she was writing.

"I'm sorry," Itachi abruptly looked up at the girl across the room from him. He had a confused look on his face, he didn't understand why she was apologizing. She didn't do anything wrong, or, he didn't know she did or not.

"For?"

"Your clan," he cringed up at his desk. Never, he never heard an apology for what he lost in that massacre. It was always assumed he was long over it. As if it meant nothing to him. When in fact, it meant almost everything to him. Almost, because he still had Sasuke. He started to work again, writing numbers and doing mental math in his head. Miho made note of his reaction. His expression, his little movements, the way he seemed confused at first. Thinking she struck a nerve, she decided to say something about herself. "My parents died when I was young, I don't remember then that much. They died from sickness, it was incurable," she continued.

"Who took care of you?" Itachi couldn't help but ask. If she was willing to tell him, he'd take what he could get.

"No one."

. . .

Training was intense. Sasuke and Sakura were against each other, which consisted of numerous situations where it was body against body. Both had injuries from each other, but nothing too serious where it required medical attention. Bruises and cuts were normal, and weren't going to be permanent. It ended up being a tie, Kakashi called the training session to an end before the winner could even by placed. Between Naruto and Sai, it was Sai. Naruto passed out from both exhaustion and starvation. The blonde didn't eat breakfast that morning, again.

"How about we all go to Ichiraku's for lunch? Sai, carry Naruto," Kakashi suggested as the artist picked up the blonde, muttering something with the word _dickless _in it. They made their way to the ramen shop with Kakashi in front, reading his book. Sasuke mentally questioned how he never got tired of reading their stories. Sakura stood by him, he assumed she was watching him from the corner of her eye.

"_A month and fifteen days…" _Sasuke reminded himself, sighing at the thought.

"**Enjoy the pinkette."**

"_She's nothing more than a teammate."_

"**You know she's more than that. She's **_**Sakura."**_ His thoughts were interrupted as he heard the blonde ninja yell in joy. Which meant Naruto was awake, and probably came to his senses from the smell of hot ramen.

Ichiraku expanded; it was no longer just a little booth with ramen. Due to the word getting out that they were the best ramen shop, it expanded into a full restaurant. The prices were the same, but it was just larger and more comfortable to eat there. When Team Seven were seated to their table and ordered, Sasuke and Sakura saw a sight to behold. There in the corner of the restaurant was Itachi and Miho enjoying their lunch. Sasuke was amused; he witnessed his brother laugh with the girl that sat next to him. It wasn't something he saw every day. Sakura was also astonished that Miho was giggling at the remarks Itachi was making. It genuinely looked like they were having a good time.

Naruto followed Sasuke and Sakura's gaze, his jaw dropped. He whipped his head back to Sasuke and Sakura. "Oi teme! What's your brother doing with Miho?" Sasuke looked at Naruto.

"You know Miho?"

"I introduced him to her last year," Sakura answered Sasuke's question without looking away from her cousin and Itachi. It just seemed weird to them. Sakura knew Miho wasn't the type to trust people easily. Sasuke assumed Itachi would be closed off to everyone in the village. Now, they witnessed both of their family members engage in what seemed like flirting.

. . .

"Are they still looking?"

"Yes," Miho couldn't help but laugh at Sasuke and Sakura's expression. "You think it's mean of us to play with them? They probably think we're flirting," her brown eyes skimmed his face. Itachi just smiled and chuckled.

"I see no problem with it." Miho couldn't help but blush a little bit, she turned to her ramen and started to eat it. Itachi couldn't help but think about what happened to Miho and her family. Clues were hidden, but they were there. The way Sakura and Miho didn't talk about their family, it just seemed like there was something to hide. Miho though, seemed more nonchalant about it. As if she became jaded because of what happened. Itachi didn't encounter any Harunos or Kawanos in Konoha, not even in other villages and districts.

"_Perhaps Sakura is the last Haruno and Miho is the last Kawano."_

. . .

"I think they're toying with us," Sakura finally said as she tore her eyes away from the sight that was across from them. In reply, Sasuke just gave a shrug. Both decided to give up on staring at them and let them have their ways. Though, they couldn't help but listen to the laughs their relatives shared. It was just so foreign to them. The sound of Miho's giggles and Itachi's laughs. It just seemed too genuine.

Miho and Itachi left earlier than Team 7. Both were side by side, Miho was shyly smiling at the ground before she looked up and walked besides him towards the Uchiha complex. Leaving Sasuke and Sakura behind. Both noticed the time, it was already around 9pm, an hour after their siblings left. Both finished dinner and decided to bid their goodnights to their friends.

"Hai. It's getting late,we'll see you later Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said with a little bow. Kakashi nodded as his goodnight. However, Naruto was still eating his food. The jinchuuriki whined and moaned before they could all depart.

"Are you kidding me! I'm only on my fourth bowl guys!" Sakura shook her head in reply, giving a _"You're hopeless" _look at him. Sasuke gave his signature _"hn" _and Sai just walked away. Kakashi already left in a cloud of smoke. Sasuke and Sakura both left the fox to his food, too tired to even bother with him. The blonde, however, did not know he had to pay for all his teammates.

"NANI!" his yell was heard throughout the whole village.

Meanwhile, Sakura laughed at Naruto's yell. They were already out of a 5 mile radius from the poor ninja. Sasuke listened to her laugh. It was probably the purest thing he's ever heard in his life. Her smile was a sight to behold to him. But as always, he would never allow himself to even utter the words out loud to her.

Striking up a conversation, Sakura asked, "The moon's beautiful tonight." Her green eyes were looking up above at it. Along with the stars that danced around it, it was just a breathtaking sight to her. Sasuke's eyes followed her's.

"It is," he averted his gaze on the girl next to him. No, rather, the woman next to him. He saw it now. The way her soft pink hair flowed down to her shoulders in little waves. The way those emerald orbs twinkled and competed with the stars in their beauty. The way her pink white skin illuminated under the full moon above them. The way her lips just begged for his attention, and how he craved to just capture them with his own. Sakura Haruno was a woman to him now, and he felt like an idiot to only realize it now. "It's…" He couldn't finish his sentence. He couldn't say how much more beautiful she was compared to the moon.

"Hm?" she looked at him with a curious expression on her face. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at him.

"Nothing."

It was silent the rest of the way.

. . .

They sat in the living room drinking green tea made by Itachi. Miho's eyes stayed on him as she observed her project. Feeling her brown eyes on him, he decided to let her do as she pleased. If it meant staying in total silence and her staring at him, he had no right to tell her to stop. Though, it surprised him when she started to talk. "I know you're curious about my background. As your brother is curious about my cousin's background." He looked up, crimson met with chestnut. He said nothing.

"I was passed from relative to relative. At the age of twelve I decided to stop and live on my own. What was left of my family respected my decision. That's when Sakura's parents decided to bring me into the Haruno family. They treated me like their own, Sakura's father was my mother's brother," she said setting down her teacup momentarily. "You can imagine me and Sakura became very close. Though, she started to resent me. For reasons that I can understand. It was because when I became an ANBU member at the age of seventeen, I became emotionally detached from my family. You know? More head than heart," she took a sip of her tea again.

Itachi thought about what she was telling him. Miho did seem emotionally detached to most things. He expected it, it seemed like she was a jaded kind of girl. Perhaps that's why she put up a wall, he could almost feel the thickness of that wall. She thought with her head, and not her heart. Not like Sakura.

"About a year ago, almost two I think… There was a mission. Tsunade ordered me to not go on it, same as Sakura. We had other things to tend to. Both the Kawano and Haruno clan went though. They all died," she said rather bluntly while setting down her empty teacup on the coffee table. Her brown eyes darting to the hands that were folded on her lap. "Sakura was devastated. That's when her and I started to rekindle our bond. She said she wished she was as emotionally detached as I was. She thought I didn't care, or it didn't hurt as much as she hurt her," she trailed off, "she was wrong." Miho abruptly stood up. Her eyes were watery as if they were on the verge of spilling. She took the cups that were on the coffee table and the empty teapot as well. "I'll wash them," she quickly turned around so her back faced him.

"Miho," Itachi said, but the girl was already in the kitchen. He jumped to his feet and rushed after her. As she set the teacups and pot into the sink, she heard Itachi call out her name. She turned around to face him. His crimson eyes were enough to make the tears spill. The same shade of crimson was one of the signatures of the Kawano and Haruno clan.

"I should have spent every moment with my family. And now they're gone," she got that to come out of her trembling lips. It was like she had to face the news all over again as if it were Tsunade telling her these words. Before she even contemplated what was going on, she was caught in a tight warm embrace. Her mind started to comprehend what was going on. Itachi Uchiha was holding her against him. He was hugging her.

"I'm sorry," his voice broke her of her thoughts.

"For?"

"Your clan." Miho couldn't help but laugh through the tears that were spilling. Those were the same words she told him that morning. It was like she was living a story, a déjà vu moment. She let out a sob as she buried her face in his shoulder, her small hands gripping his black shirt. Her body trembled and went into little spasms as she choked on her tears and gasped for air. It wasn't normal for her, to be crying on a stranger. But at the same time, he didn't feel like a stranger.

Itachi didn't understand why exactly he was holding the girl against him. It just seemed acceptable to do. It seemed like she was in pain, and he decided to do something about it. She gave him the feeling of being understood that morning, he felt as if he had to reciprocate what happened before. His head turned toward the direction of the door as he heard it open. The sound of someone unlocking the door and turning the knob. He was still holding Miho against him when Sasuke and Sakura saw the sight. Both had an expression of shock on their face. Sakura had the decency to immediately look away once it processed and went to her room, while it took Sasuke a few moments to do what she did.


End file.
